


Wayfinder

by sara_sedai



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Kissing, Romance, Sex, Visions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:16:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27988320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_sedai/pseuds/sara_sedai
Summary: This is a short J/C love story written for "25 Days of Voyager."It's low on angst, high on smut.On an away mission, Kathryn receives a gift from an old woman who claims it will help her find her way home. She disregards what the woman says and continues with her mission, and then the fun begins...
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 18
Kudos: 90
Collections: 25 Days of Voyager (2020 Version)





	Wayfinder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariella884](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariella884/gifts).



> Thank you to Ariella884 for inviting me to write for the collection.
> 
> Huge thanks to JoAryn for beta reading on very short notice.

It was a beautiful day, warm with just a hint of a breeze. If Kathryn didn’t look up at the pink and purple sky, she could pretend she was on Earth. 

A couple stood to her right, two women with their hands intertwined as they looked at jewelry. One turned, cupping her partner’s cheek, and Kathryn’s heart squeezed. 

Such a small and simple thing, how could it hurt so much to witness it? Turning away, she trailed her fingers along a blue scarf imprinted with an intricate design. 

“Only forty satts.” The old woman behind the rickety table rubbed the ridges on her chin in greeting.

Kathryn rubbed her chin. “Thank you, I’m just looking.” She shouldn’t be lingering here. She’d ordered the away team to avoid contact with these people and here she was chit-chatting and eyeing silk scarves. 

“You worry too much,” the woman said, leaning forward with a frown. “Here, take this. It will help you see your path forward.”

Kathryn eyed the stone. It was black and shiny with geometric shapes etched into its iridescent surface. “No, thank you. I have to go.” Tuvok was approaching. They must have found the duranium needed to repair the navigational array. 

Kathryn turned to leave and the woman reached across the booth, catching her wrist. “It’s a wayfinder. Quite rare. You need it more than I do.” The woman pressed the stone into Kathryn’s palm. “My gift to you and those who have your best interest at heart. I hope you find your way home.”

Had she mentioned the broken array? Kathryn frowned and reviewed the conversation in her head. No, it must have been chance then. Kathryn murmured her thanks and pulled away just as Tuvok joined her. He rubbed the fake ridges on his chin. Kathryn repeated the gesture.

Tuvok tilted his head toward her. “We found the duranium deposits and have mined the amount permitted. We are ready to depart.”

“Good.” She slipped the stone into her satchel and fell in step beside him. The amount the government permitted was just shy of what was needed, but she trusted B’Elanna to make it work. She had to, or they would never find their way home.

Thinking back to the old woman, she touched Tuvok’s arm. “You said these people do not have telepathic abilities.”

“They do not.”

Kathryn frowned, the old woman’s words still spinning in her mind. She must have been cold reading. “Let’s get the duranium loaded and get back to the ship.”

Six hours later, Kathryn sat in her quarters, exhausted. Chakotay was late. He was probably in engineering listening to B’Elanna rant about the quantity of the ore they’d obtained, and then he was going to show up here and get an earful from her. Not because he deserved it. He was her pressure valve, and she’d been tense and irritable all day.

Reaching across her desk for her glass of water, she knocked padds and equipment to the floor just as Chakotay rang to enter her quarters.

“Come in,” she said, her voice far sharper than she intended. 

“Captain,” Chakotay greeted her. He entered carrying a bottle of wine and a padd. “Let me help you with that.” He quickly gathered the padds and placed them back on her desk. “What’s this?” he asked, picking up the black stone.

Sighing, Kathryn settled on the couch. She couldn’t be mad at him when he was being so sweet. He’d brought her a bottle of wine that cost him half a week’s worth of rations. “It’s a stone an old woman gave me when we were on Sagh’ara. She called it a wayfinder. She claims it’s quite rare and it will help me find–” 

He wasn’t listening. His eyes were glazed over, his mouth slightly open, his breathing shallow. “Chakotay?”

He didn’t respond.

Pushing off the couch she stepped up close and waved her hand in front of his face. “Can you hear me?” Her heart began to race. 

He moaned, his face flushed and his pupils dilated. 

“Chakotay,” worry crept into her voice. “You have two seconds before I call Sick Bay.” She took the stone from his hand, placing it on the desk and shook him gently.

He blinked, shaking his head. “Kathryn?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly. “Did you? Did we?”

“What happened?” She squeezed his hand.

His eyes locked on hers, his gaze intense. Pulling away from her, he moved to the couch and sat down, his head in his hands. “I picked up the stone and…” 

Kathryn retrieved the stone and sat beside him, inspecting the lines. “What happened when you–” The room flickered around her.

Where was she? Still in her quarters, but everything had moved. Some of Chakotay’s artwork hung on her walls. 

“Chakotay?” She rose to her feet.

“Spirits, you’re impatient. Give me two minutes to shower.” He stepped out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips.

Kathryn’s brows shot up. Why was he in her shower with her towel? She put her hands on her hips. “Commander–”

"Stripping me wasn't enough?" He leaned in and kissed her, his hand slipping up into her hair. She should push him away. She should tell him it was utterly inappropriate and that he should get the hell out. But, Oh God, it felt good. She didn’t want him to stop.

She pulled him to her, her lips parting under his, her hands splaying across his back. His tongue delved into her mouth and she moaned.

The room flickered.

She blinked. Chakotay sat beside her, his brows up, his eyes searching hers. She reached for his arm, her hand brushing the coarse fabric of his uniform. The stone sat on the couch beside him.

Pulling back she cleared her throat and got her bearings. “Did you see anything when you held the stone, Commander?” she asked, trying for a steely tone and failing. Her voice sounded husky and breathless. Dammit. She cleared her throat again.

After a moment of stillness, Chakotay pushed off the couch and crossed the room. Pouring two glasses, he passed one to her and took a big swig from his own. “Yes. I saw you.”

Peering into the wineglass she imagined the dozens of different compromising positions he may have seen her in. “Explain.” Good. Her authoritative tone was back.

He shrugged. “You greeted me at the door. Enthusiastically. I don't know why I saw what I did. What did you see, Kathryn?”

Her eyes narrowed. He'd called her Kathryn. They were supposed to be discussing the away mission and B'Elanna's progress with the navigational array. This was business, not some casual dinner they were having together. But the wayfinder had changed the tone of the entire evening. Letting it go, she took a sip of her wine. 

“I saw you, too.”

“Was I dressed?” he asked quietly.

Kathryn spluttered her wine. Wiping the back of her mouth she looked up at him. “I’m not answering that.”

“I wasn’t. And you didn’t seem to mind.” He grinned.

Kathryn shook her head. “Do you think it was a vision?”

Chakotay nudged the stone along the couch cushion. “There are two ways to find out. We could take this to B’Elanna....”

Kathryn shook her head. God no. What if the stone had her naked and rolling around with her Chief Engineer. “No. Not B’Elanna. We could show the doctor and then delete his memory after.”

Chakotay shook his head. “We promised we wouldn’t touch his programming without his consent.”

Kathryn leaned forward to peer at the stone. “We could,” she cleared her throat, “try it again to see if the experience is replicable.”

Chakotay pursed his lips and nodded. She knew that look. He was trying not to smile. “You or me?” he asked, his voice low.

“You,” she said quickly, her mind racing. “Two minutes. Just to see if it replays the same scenario.” What would happen if she were alone in the room? What would happen elsewhere on the ship? She was reluctant to be vacant and vulnerable again, but she needed to understand what was happening.

Chakotay sat back with his eyes closed, already cradling the stone. His breathing rapid, his mouth open just a bit. Is that how she had looked? 

She put her wineglass down on the small table beside her and turned to watch him. She bit her lip. What was her alter ego doing right now? Was she straddling him? Were they naked?

He moaned, clenching his fists, and material around his crotch tented. A spiral of need pierced through her. Her eyes locked on his lips. She wanted to kiss him again.

The computer chimed and Kathryn jumped. “Two-minute timer completed.” She inched back, her face hot and her palms sweaty. She had practically crawled right on top of him. Snatching the stone from his palm, she rested it on the couch between them.

Chakotay groaned and covered his face with his hands. “No more, Kathryn. That was agonizing.”

“What happened?” she asked, scooting closer to him, despite her resolve to stay at least a foot apart.

“The same thing.”

“Exactly? Did it replay like a holonovel?”

“No.” He shook his head and looked at her, his eyes dark and his voice husky. “No, it’s quite dynamic, like stepping into another life. I think we’re married. I had a ring.” He moved his thumb along his fourth finger, fiddling with a band that wasn’t there.

Was it the same vision as hers? Or a completely different one? “What were you wearing?” Kathryn pressed her hands to her heated cheeks. 

“Nothing.” He laughed, his voice strained. “Just the ring.”

“No towel?”

“Oh, yes, at the start.” He nodded. “It was off-white in colour. A bit small for me.”

So he’d seen a white towel too. Were they entering the same scenario then? “I can’t remember what I was wearing.” Her entire focus had been on Chakotay, the feel of his mouth on hers, his bare back under her palms. She shuddered.

“You had a blue dress on. Sheer, gauzy. It fell to your knees. Your ring matched mine, but it was more silver looking.” 

White gold. She’d always wanted her wedding band to be white gold.

He nudged the stone with one finger. “Where did you find this?”

“On Sagh’ara, an old woman gave it to me. She called it a wayfinder and claimed it was rare. She suggested it would help me find the home I seek.”

“Are you going to give it another go?” Chakotay asked, his eyes searching hers.

“Yes, I want to see if I’m wearing a blue dress. That will mean it’s the same scene or timeframe we’re entering.”

Chakotay nodded. “Computer, two-minute timer.” He passed her the stone. 

Biting her lip she looked into his eyes. Her stomach churned. She didn’t want to be vulnerable, helpless, frozen.

The room flickered.

Chakotay’s hot, warm mouth slid across her jaw. She was in his arms, pinned to the couch. His weight bearing down on her made her squirm. She groaned and arched up against him, desperate for more.

He dropped his head down to her breast, his tongue moving in slow, lazy circles, his fingers trailing up her inner thigh.

“Chakotay,” she moaned.

“Yes, love,” he murmured.

“Higher.”

His fingers drifted higher, almost caressing her slit. She wriggled, pushing up against his hand. He laughed against her breast. 

She wanted to twine her fingers in his hair and pull his mouth to her nipple, but her hands were tied. No, not bound, caught up. Her dress had been pulled down and her arms were pinned at her sides. She cursed the blue fabric. 

“Please,” she begged.

Chakotay teased her, his mouth sucking slowly, his fingers lazily drifting past her clit. Oh God, she couldn’t take much more of this.

“Please what?” he asked, his fingers sliding across her slippery slit.

The room flickered.

Kathryn panted and groaned. God, just when he was going to push inside her. She clenched her teeth, her body aching for his touch. And he was right there, just sitting beside her, overdressed and too damned far away.

Shuddering, she squeezed her eyes shut, the ache inside her building instead of fading. 

“I should go,” Chakotay said softly. 

“No.” What if it only worked when he was here? What if the scenario changed when he left and she never had release? That was unacceptable.

“Please, Kathryn. I can’t take much more of this. I’m exhausted. I can barely handle the regular amount of torture. This is beyond excruciating. I’ll slip up and then you won’t forgive me.”

She opened her eyes, her gaze dropping to his lips. 

He raised his hands to hold her back, or perhaps to hold himself back, and took a deep breath. “I’m going.”

“Stay.” She was shaking with need. If he left and the stone stopped working, she wouldn’t forgive him for that.

He stood and pulled her to him, his breath warm on her cheek, the long, hard length of him pressing into her hip. “Kathryn, we’re not going to fall into bed together because of the influence of an alien stone. When we make that decision, we do it clear-eyed with no regrets.”

She swallowed. He was right. Dammit.

He brushed his lips against her cheek and left.

Collapsing on the couch, she eyed the small black stone. The scene had progressed without her. Was her alter ego was in the throes of passion? Or was she done and sated?

She shouldn’t touch it. She should take a cold shower and go to bed. Her hand slid across the cushion and closed around the stone.

Flicker.

Chakotay panted heavily in her ear as he thrust deep inside her. Gasping, Kathryn struggled against the fabric that pinned her arms to her sides. She wanted to pull him to her. She wanted to drag her nails down his back.

He thrust forward again and she moaned. God, he felt good inside her. “Harder.”

He pulled back and slammed into her hips. Kathryn cried out, begging for more. He ground his hips against hers and drove into her again. Over and over.

She was so close. His hot mouth latched on to her neck and she tripped over the edge, coming hard around him, wave after ecstatic wave.

Two thrusts more and he was coming too. Grunting as he collapsed on top of her. Smiling into his shoulder, she wriggled beneath him. “Free me. I want to hug you.”

“No.” He nipped her ear. “I’m subject to your whims all day. At night you’re mine.”

A small thrill ran through her. “My orders aren’t whims.” 

He levered himself up and grinned down at her. “Really? So yesterday when you ordered me to your Ready Room and then pinned me against the wall, that wasn’t a whim?”

“No. It was absolutely necessary. Mental health is of critical importance, especially for those in command.” He chuckled, his laughter thrumming through her core.

The room flickered. She slumped on the edge of her couch with one hand in her pants, cupping her sex. The stone had fallen to the floor. Well she was glad Chakotay hadn’t been there for that vision. She wished she could have stayed in his arms a bit longer.

She stepped into the bathroom and washed her hands, her eyes drifting up to meet her own gaze in the mirror. What the hell would she say to him tomorrow? 

***

B’Elanna slammed her hand on the console. “Dammit.”

Kathryn waved a hand at her without looking up. “Take a break. I’ll review the numbers again.” There had to be some way to make it stretch. They couldn’t have come all this way, refined all of that ore, just to be in the same place they’d been in two weeks ago.

She slipped the shiny stone from her pocket and fiddled with it. Earlier that morning she’d been brave enough to try it in some secluded areas of the ship. It had produced no further visions than those she and Chakotay had experienced the night before. It was smooth, though, and it fit perfectly in her hand.

Thinking through another scenario, she punched buttons into the console. The stone slipped from her hand and skittered across the floor.

“What’s this?” B’Elanna asked, reaching for the stone.

“Just something I picked up on Sagh’ara.” Kathryn re-ran the numbers. No, that wouldn’t work either. She sighed and turned to face B’Elanna who stood frozen, her eyes wide.

Oh no. Kathryn snatched the stone from B’Elanna’s hand. “Lieutenant?”

B’Elanna slowly looked her over from top to bottom, as if she were truly seeing her for the first time. Kathryn swallowed. Oh God, had her Chief Engineer seen her naked?

Pushing Kathryn aside, B’Elanna’s hands flew on the console. “What if we… and then …YES! Captain, if we disassemble the two replicators, use some of their parts, and recycle the rest we’ll have exactly enough duranium to fix the array!”

Kathryn looked over the numbers. “Excellent. Do it.” She looked at B’Elanna, who was flush with excitement. “B’Elanna, did you see anything when you were holding this stone?”

“Yes,” she said, gathering her tools. “I saw me ripping replicators out of your Ready Room and Chakotay’s office. That’s what gave me the idea to cannibalize equipment to repair the array.” She pointed at her staff. “Vorik, you have Engineering. Muchaey, you’re with me. Excuse us, Captain. We have reclaiming work to do.” 

***

The door chimed and Kathryn jumped. Swallowing, she ran her hands down her hips. The gauzy blue chiffon felt so different from her standard issue uniform. “Come,” she said, softly.

Chakotay stepped in wearing gray pants and a loose white shirt. His eyes widened as he took in the dress. He pointed his thumb behind him. “Should I go get my towel?”

Kathryn laughed and hit his shoulder. “Come in, Commander.”

“It’s Chakotay tonight.”

She nodded. He was right. She used their commissions to keep him at arm’s length. She pointed at the set table. “Hungry?”

He shook his head and stepped up close to her. “I heard you last night.”

Her breath caught. “You did?”

“Yes. You went back.”

She swallowed. “I did.”

“What did you learn?” His hands rested lightly on her shoulders.

“I learned that time seems to progress on its own there, wherever it is, and that it had been a shared experience. When I went back, there was a blue dress and I felt a ring on my finger.”

“Where was the dress?” he asked, his eyes dancing.

“On me, partly, to some extent.” 

He slid his palms down her arms and then took her hands in his. “Kathryn, I think you’ve known for a while that I want to be with you, to be an equal partner in your life. I haven’t said anything because I was certain you knew and that you didn’t return my feelings. But the way you reacted last night…”

Her face grew hot. “I do want to be with you, Chakotay. But it complicates things. It will affect the command structure. It’ll change … everything.”

“What do you think that stone was showing us?” he asked softly. “Just some intensely sexual scene?”

“No. It’s meant to point the way home.” She looked into his eyes.

He was her home. 

It was true whether they married or not, they were together or apart, if they slept with each other or deprived themselves of joy—no matter which path she took forward that remained constant. Why hadn’t she seen this before? 

“Kathryn?” His eyes searched hers.

“You’re my home,” she whispered.

He pulled her to his chest, his arms wrapping around her, holding her tightly to him. “You’re my universe,” he said into her hair. 

She shuddered. “Why did it take me so long to see?” 

“That doesn’t matter.” He ran his hands down her back and she pressed into him, sighing. He pulled back, his mouth just a fraction of an inch from hers. “What do we do now?”

She slipped her hands into hair and pulled his mouth to hers. She kissed him slowly, her tongue darting into his mouth. He tasted like tea and those tart berries they’d acquired from Sagh’ara. Moaning into his mouth she melted against him.

She pulled back and smiled. “Want to get married and then spend several days consummating the union?” 

His eyes narrowed and her heart stopped. Was he going to say no? 

“Two weeks,” he said. “No Captain, no Commander—just you and me.”

The tightness in her chest released. “One week and I agree to leave the pips behind.”

“One week, no pips, and we take the shuttlepod someplace secluded.”

“Done.” Kathryn beamed, joy flooding through her. 

***

Kathryn stood on the bridge, Chakotay at her side. She tapped her comm badge. “Engineering, are you ready?”

“Yes, Captain.” B'Elanna’s voice carried over the comm. “The navigational array is back online.”

Tom twisted in his chair. “Confirmed. I have nav control.”

“Resume course to Earth,” Chakotay said, reaching for her hand, his palm warm against hers. They settled in their seats, and she looked down at their entwined fingers. The black stone rested on the console between them. That old woman had been right, it was exactly what she had needed to find her way home.


End file.
